Friday, 8 July 2011

An Afternoon at the Toronto Indy

I have gone a few times on race day but my favorite day to go is Friday. There are less people and the cars are just as noisy and go just as fast. This year I went with Teena, who had never been before.

The weather was fabulous and bright, just a perfect day to be at the track. This will be more of a photo essay as it was fun trying to get the timing down for shots of cars that can reach speeds of 180 miles per hour (about 290 kilometres per hour) on the Lakeshore Blvd straightaway.

I was glad to see that Teena really enjoyed herself and said she would like to go back next year. Now she knows what that noise outside our bedroom window on race weekend is all about. To see Teena's view of the day, click here.

The first place we hit was the beer garden on corner 10. To me, this is one of the best spots to see the race. The cars come flying off corner 9, come straight at you then wheel right around corner 10.

Stock cars really like to run close. Here they are in front of us coming around corner 10.

Running close can result in wrecks. Here's a car coming into the pits in need of some bodywork.

The Ferrari cars were slower quieter and had a tendency to give each other some room.

I took some good shots at this corner. This guy had a much better camera and a much better spot.

Bud was a major sponsor so only Bud and Bud Light were available. I will say no matter where I was on the track, the beer was always ice cold.

Then we were off to Thunder Alley which is along the back straight where the cars reach their fastest speeds.

I made some new friends.

Teena looks good (as always) behind the wheel.

The view from the bridge.

Danica Patrick on the back straight.

Another shot of one of the big boys on the back straight.

We then made our way to seats pit side at the start finish line. Very expensive on Saturday and race day. Here is Scott Dixon, currently 3rd in the points standing. He would do a couple of laps, then come in for work. With about 10 minutes left in practice, the crew lifted the hood and he was done. Better it happens during practice rather than qualifying or on race day. Teena and I will be cheering for him.

More action from the pits.

This is what every driver wants. To cross the start/finish line first.

Then we hit the pit paddock. Again an extra charge on Saturday and Sunday, Friday is free. Interesting to see a working outside garage setup.

Finally to end the day we hit the shade on the inside of corner 9. Here again you are close to the action. We saw the stock cars again and cars from the Canadian Touring Car Championship. here are a couple shots from the stocks and the "baby' of all the cars we saw today.

It was a great day for me being able to show Teena what live racing is all about. I am looking forward to the race on Sunday and to having another great afternoon at the track next year with Teena. I took a short video, hopefully to capture the sights and sounds of being there.